“The White House has approved a new, national research effort headed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the most effective treatments for people battling opioid addiction.

The CDC, which received approval Monday from the executive branch, said it hopes that the study’s results will help inform policymakers, communities and providers on when drug-assisted therapies may or may not be appropriate.

“Few studies are available to help patients and providers make informed decisions about the risks and benefits associated with the different medication-assisted treatments,” the agency said in a notice.”

“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a new boss, Alex Azar, after nearly four months without a permanent leader.

The Senate confirmed Azar, a former pharmaceutical executive, on Wednesday by a 55-43 vote with six Democrats and Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) joining all but one Republican to support the nominee.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the lone Republican to vote against his confirmation, expressing concern previously over Azar’s reticence to let drugs be imported from overseas.

Azar replaces Tom Price, who resigned in September after Politico detailed repeated trips he took on private and military jets, costing taxpayers more than $1 million.”

“President Trump is planning on gutting the White House Office of National Drug Control and Policy by slashing more than $340 million from its budget, a Trump administration source confirmed to CBS News.

The cuts proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are part of plans to effectively dismantle the office by eliminating its grant-making capabilities. Two grants — the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and Drug-Free Communities (DFC) — would be relocated to, and managed by, the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.”

“One of the biggest drivers of America’s opioid epidemic is Medicaid, and ObamaCare’s expansion of the program has only made matters worse, claims a new report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses were the leading cause of accidental death in the United States in 2016, accounting for almost 64,000 deaths. Adjusting for age, the rate of drug-overdose deaths more than tripled between 1999 and 2016. Abuse of opioids such as oxycodone is one of the primary reasons for this increase.

How does Medicaid play into this? For its beneficiaries, it makes drugs dirt-cheap. At most, patients are subjected to a small copayment, sometimes as low as one dollar for 240 opioid pills; in 12 states, adults on Medicaid pay nothing at all for prescription drugs. The street price of those drugs, meanwhile, can be quite high: The report states that those 240 pills could sell for as much as $4,000.”

“The Trump administration is extending an emergency declaration for the opioid crisis after accomplishing little under the order since it was announced three months ago.

A notice posted to the HHS website Friday said acting Secretary Eric Hargan would extend the public health emergency, which was originally declared in late October. The order was originally set to expire Tuesday.

The designation gives federal health agencies the authority to quickly hire more treatment specialists and reallocate money to strengthen the response to the epidemic that killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016.

“This is further evidence of the Trump administration’s strong, ongoing commitment to addressing this crisis and protecting the health and well-being of the American people,” a HHS spokesperson said Friday evening.”

“Congress is steadily taking the sting out of ObamaCare, removing the most unpopular parts of the law while leaving the most popular elements in place.

Lawmakers in the last two months have repealed the law’s insurance mandate and delayed a slew of controversial taxes, including the Cadillac tax on high-cost health plans, which is reviled by unions and businesses alike.

But other central provisions of the law, including subsidies to help people buy coverage, the expansion of Medicaid and protections for people with pre-existing conditions, remain in place. And those parts appear likely to stick around for the foreseeable future, given that the GOP repeal push is on hold indefinitely.

Former staffers who helped write the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are optimistic that the law can still function without the mandate and the taxes, even if they would have preferred for those policies to stay in place.”

“House Republicans and Democrats joined forces on more than a dozen bills to fight the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.

The Bipartisan Heroin Task Force’s goal is to bring attention to the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic and to advance bills it believes have the potential to gain traction and funding, explained Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), task force co-chair, during a Wednesday press conference.

Prescriber education, treatment of vulnerable populations, and upholding the rule of law are just some of the issues covered in the various bills, he noted.

Asked whether the group was lobbying to include funding for the opioid epidemic in a must-pass spending bill, Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.), co-chair of the task force, said that the group had considered it, and would be issuing a letter on that matter soon.

MacArthur said it was “confusing to progress” to advance programs at the federal level and then fail to provide the funding to implement them.”

“Customs agents will have $9 million for additional equipment to detect fentanyl and other opioids from entering the country under a bill President Trump signed Wednesday.

The Interdict Act — an acronym for International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology — allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection to buy chemical screening devices that can detect the deadly drugs as they enter the United States.

China is the largest source of fentanyl smuggling, but the drug is often shipped first to Mexico or Canada where it then crosses the border into the United States. It’s often shipped by mail or other couriers — and even ordered online — but it can be difficult to detect in small amounts.”

“The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $76 million through its SAMHSA Treatment Drug Courts grant program. The money will be used to help drug courts break the cycle of criminal behavior and incarceration related to drug and alcohol use.

The purpose of the SAMHSA Treatment Drug Courts grant is to expand substance use disorder treatment services in existing adult problem solving courts and adult Tribal Healing to Wellness courts. These courts use the treatment drug court model to provide substance use disorder treatment.

SAMHSA expects to fund as many as 38 courts with up to $400,000 per year for five years. The actual awards may vary depending on the availability of funds.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announces the finalization of proposed changes to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulation, 42 CFR Part 2. The rule will be published in the Federal Register and currently can be viewed at http://www.samhsa.gov/42CFRPart2Final.

Major provisions in today’s rule:

The final rule permits additional disclosures of patient identifying information, with patient consent, to facilitate payment and healthcare operations such as claims management, quality assessment, and patient safety activities.

The final rule permits additional disclosures of patient identifying information to certain contractors, subcontractors, and legal representatives for the purpose of conducting a Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP audit or evaluation.

The final rule will assist users of electronic health records (EHRs) by permitting use of an abbreviated notice of prohibition on re-disclosure more easily accommodated in EHR text fields.